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A hostess with heart, Longmont woman serves warm welcomes

By Pam MellskogLongmont Times-Call

Posted:
03/20/2013 02:19:47 PM MDT

Updated:
03/20/2013 02:21:53 PM MDT

Lisa Hainline uses a food processor to dice up onions for her stuffed mushrooms Monday at her home near Niwot. Hainline s super chill kitchen attitude makes the self-described professional volunteer a model hostess, be it in her home with friends or at fundraising events she caters for her favorite local nonprofits such as The Parenting Place in Boulder.
(
Matthew Jonas
)

Lisa's baked stuffed mushrooms

Ingredients

12 ounces baby portabellas

5 ounces frozen spinach

1 cup ricotta cheese 1 medium Spanish onion

2 tablespoons fresh parsley

3 garlic cloves

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Thaw the spinach, and mix into the ricotta. Set aside. Wash the mushrooms well, and let them drain and dry. Cut off the stems, and reserve them to use later in the stuffing.

Mince the garlic and onion in a food processor. Begin sautéing this mixture in olive oil, butter or a combination thereof. Meanwhile, mince the mushroom stems and parsley in the food processor, and then sautee with the onions and garlic until all ingredients and slightly caramelized. Combine the vegetable mixture with the spinach and ricotta. Then, spoon the filling into the mushroom caps.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until tops begin to brown. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

Yield: About 20 mushrooms

Source: Lisa Hainline

LONGMONT -- Welcome to Lisa Hainline's kitchen, a place where parsley stays as fresh as cut daffodils in a water-filled vase on the counter; where twin stainless steel dishwashers hint at the throngs that come and go; and where commercial kitchen-quality padded floor mats lie by the stove and sink to spare wear and tear on her busy feet.

She cooks without shoes and socks, even on this wintry afternoon in early March.

Hainline's super chill kitchen attitude makes the self-described "professional volunteer" a model hostess, be it in her home with friends or at fundraising events she caters for her favorite local nonprofits such as The Parenting Place in Boulder.

Mistakes happen, of course.

She once forgot to fetch bottles of white wine stashed in the garage freezer for quick cooling.

"When the party started, I forgot all about them. I woke up at 2 a.m. after the party and remembered.

But it was too late. They had frozen, and there was broken glass and wine all over," she said while stuffing mushroom caps.

Ultimately, though, nothing in stemware or on plates makes or breaks a party as much as the heart of the host or hostess, she said.

"Some people pretend to be gracious when they're really not," Hainline, 44, continued. "Be genuine. Accept people for who they are and what they bring. Love people for all different reasons."

A warm welcome makes a pizza party with beer as savory as one with much fancier fare, she said. From there, sticking with a "to do" list will make any event -- down home or upscale -- seem more manageable.

Her list begins with projecting the headcount and creating the menu of food and beverages to serve.

"And if it's too much for you to make, bring it in or pot luck it," she said. "... But then don't give people recipes to make. That's too controlling. Ask them what they're good at making, what they want to make, and have them bring that."

With or without help, Hainline suggested simplifying everything for best results.

For instance, she usually serves food on white plates, not patterned ones; uses tried-and-true recipes, not novel ones; and limits the menu instead of trying to impress with a grand array of options.

Finally, she figures a timeline of her food roll out so it is ready to eat, and she is ready to relax, when the doorbell rings.

"Here's the important part, that you're not a slave in the kitchen. You should enjoy your party, and that is about making sure that everyone is heard and seen and listened to," Hainline said.

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